Lexus Highlights Latest Up and Coming Design Artists

Up and Coming

Aside from making stunning-looking vehicles, Lexus has long supported up-and-coming artists and designers in a variety of ways. That includes the Lexus Design Awards, which the brand hands out every year to identify promising talent whose fresh ideas receive a high-profile cross-media introduction on an established platform respected by the global creative community. Recently, Lexus narrowed down 1,726 entries from 57 countries/regions to six finalists, all of which are unique in their own special way.

Photos: Lexus

Chitofoam

First up, we have Chitofoam, which was designed by Charlotte Böhning and Mary Lempres, classmates pursuing their Master's of Industrial Design at the Pratt Institute. It's a material research project that reuses discarded polystyrene foam as food for mealworms, and then utilizes their exoskeletons such as their discarded shells. It has been found that mealworms can safely digest polystyrene, and biopolymers made from chitosan extracted from their exoskeleton will be used to create an environmentally friendly alternative to polystyrene foam.

Photos: Lexus

Hammock Wheelchair

The hammock wheelchair combines the features of a wheelchair, forklift, and hammock, allowing caregivers to move and transfer patients without having to manually lift them. A cloth with tunnel casings acts as a pallet, while a wheelchair with two prongs acts like a forklift. The hammock wheelchair was created by a team called Wondaleaf, who are part of a medical device innovation company. Each member specializes in different aspects of the design and production process. After some team members had difficulty caring for patients after running a nursing home, they partnered to design a device to assist caregivers and patients at these facilities.

Photos: Lexus

Ina Vibe

Ina Vibe is a lightweight, portable gas-powered cooking burner/stove with a thermoelectric generator that harnesses heat energy to generate sustainable, affordable, and clean electricity, making it possible to cook, charge and light sustainably and healthily. It was created by Team Dunamis, a group of five graduates of Engineering and Business Management from Landmark University and Rivers State University in Nigeria.

Photos: Lexus

Rewind

Designed to evoke memories, Rewind uses a motion-tracking tool that guides seniors with dementia in re-enacting familiar gestures. These actions are then reflected as audio-visual feedback on a paired device that triggers recollection. Rewind was created by Poh Yun Ru, a socially engaged product designer who seeks to create a positive impact on society by improving the lives of others. Living in a culturally rich and diverse society, she sees design as a methodology to develop intuitive and inclusive solutions for people from all walks of life.

Photos: Lexus

Sound Eclipse

Installed in front of half-open windows, the microphone on the back of Sound Eclipse captures noise, while speakers emit sound waves of identical amplitude to the original noise but of inverted phase. These waves combine and cancel each other out. It was designed by Shamil Sahabiev, an industrial designer who has also worked as a concept artist, contributing his designs to multiple video game titles, including games for VR, along with Kristina Loginova, a product manager, who has helped to turn many creative ideas into profitable businesses. Together they are now focused on industrial design with the goal of creating things that benefit society and bring the future closer.

Photos: Lexus

Tacomotive

The texture of the paper, especially its roughness and softness, changes subtly with pattern cutting," said the creator of Tacomotive - Kou Mikuni. "Using this phenomenon, I designed an analog driving game to enjoy tactile exploration, inspired by the concept of co-creating communication in the education of children with visual and aural challenges." Mikuni graduated from the Department of Integrated Science (natural science) at the University of Tokyo and is currently a doctoral student studying design at the School of Engineering (mechanical engineering) of the same university.

Photos: Lexus

>>Join the conversation about the new Lexus design artists right here at ClubLexus.com.

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